Thursday, 14 March 2013

Hello Directors and Managers, time to engage in Social Media is Now!


Today, customers are expecting to hear from the leadership team on social media channels, as a
direct way to connect and engage with prospective service providers, brands they love, architects behind products they love and causes they support. I am not talking just about B2C consumers here, but very much about B2B customers as well.

Remember, artificially just trying to be someone else to create a larger than life persona, just don't fly in the long run, and you are not going to like that fake persona yourself, either. So be yourself, but be conscious in not disclosing confidential info, and also be aware of the damage a bad comment in Blog or else-where can cause.

A Leader's (Especially, CXOs/Directors/Managers/Architects) engagement in social media raises the brand profile and instills confidence in your company’s core team. Those who engage with strong positive commitment over a longer period, are better equipped to lead a company or a product or a Service line. Better communication, improved brand image, and higher level of transparency is the order of the social world today, and it is important for the Managers and CXOs to pull up the socks and start engaging!

So, now what Social Media channels? This is a more complex to answer, but the quick answer for a tech firm would be to start with a Blog or Active Discussions in LinkedIn Groups. Again, it is important to be yourself, and let the world know who you are, the way you are, and listen to your thoughts and ideas.

For more tips on taking your brand to next level, please read this blog


Saturday, 9 March 2013

Cloud Ready Business Email is the way, if you are a start-up, looking for a head start


The Advantage of getting started with a Cloud Ready Business Email (Smart Business Email) is that, it allows you to use more and more cloud based tools and Apps as your business grow. (e.g. Tomorrow, you may want to have an Invoicing App, Or a Billing Application, i am sure there are hundreds of providers with GoogleApps/Office 365 integration, giving you that service on 'Pay As You Go' model, or sometimes even for free, for single user, forever)

     To get qualified as 'Smart', a Business Email need to be ready to harness the power of "Free" or "Pay As you Go" On-Demand Cloud Apps. Here is a quick check list to determine cloud readiness for your business email.
     a) Cloud Apps - Can i integrate productivity Cloud apps like Invoicing, Time tracking,CRM and millions of Apps right into Email, as and when i need them in the future?
     b) Powerful Search - Can i have a powerful Search, so that i never miss an email or content sent by some one in the past- how about a google like search for your inbox and for other content?
     c) Chat, Video with my employees or external vendors/clients - How about instant chat built right into my Email Inbox- so, i can decide to chat or write email or have video call, to improve efficiency? all centrally connected to your Email.
     d) Does it work like a charm on the Cloud, without me worrying about up-time, spam mails, infrastructure issues, IT personnel cost. remember, unless you are an Enterprise looking for serious in-house email infrastructure on your private data center, you would go with cloud.
     e) Can it support shared Calendar with all my employees, so that i can setup meeting more easily and even knowing their schedule?
     f) Does it allow me my Org, to go Social, and collaborate (read Google+ business integration with Google Apps) and create effective org wide social exchange and collaboration, within your office employees?
     g) Can i start leveraging more powerful Cloud Apps tied to by business email, in an easy to govern control panel (E.g. Some Apps only subset list of users/emailIds in my organization)?
     h) Can i get rid of license cost for Office productivity Apps, and turn my Capex into Opex?

    If your answer is "YES" to all the above points, you would probably need a Cloud Ready 'Smart' Business Email.

What are the Cloud Ready Smart Business Email options available today?  
     There are only very few options if you are really interested in Cloud Ready Smart Business Email
      #1 Business Email Powered by Google Apps
      #2 Business Email Powered by Microsoft Office 365 (with Exchange Online)
      #3 Zoho Email (Relatively less powerful compared to Google Apps and Office 365
         
Remember, it is NOT mandatory to have Cloud Powered Business Email, to start using Cloud Apps, but having a Smart Business Email, powered by Google Apps/Office 365 makes the cloud journey all the more easier and manageable.
How to get a Smart Business Email? Sign-up with Google Apps or Office 365 yourself, if you can handle the DNS changes and Domain verification and Setup yourself. You can alternatively contact Service Providers like TobocBiz.com or others.